Our Part-Time/Casual Toddler Program welcomes children aged 18 months to 2.5 years, with a maximum group size of 15 children.

Our Part-Time/Casual Toddler Program is structured with snack, lunch, nap and outdoor play times. Parents provide lunch and afternoon snack where applicable and Mothercraft Ottawa provides the morning snack. All the children follow the same daily schedule.

One part-time and three full-time Educators facilitate the program maintaining Ministry requirements and meeting the social and emotional needs of your child and provide age-appropriate learning opportunities based on their observations with the children.

We appreciate how difficult it can be for parents to leave their child with us, which is why we’ve created a process that takes into account the needs of both the parents and the toddler and integrates your child into the program in a gradual way.

Parent Handbook

Upcoming Events

The core values underlying our Part-Time/Casual Toddler Program

Special Attention

Our Educator-to-child ratio is 1:5 throughout most of the day as we believe small groups allow Educators to get to know each child’s unique personality and skills

Socialization

Positive social interactions with the Educators and the other toddlers help build social and self-regulation skills, control over their emotions and confidence

Healthy Living

Physical activity and sound nutrition are essential parts of a healthy learning environment, ploration, play and inquiry

Independence

Our curriculum is designed to encourage taking initiative, exploring and building self-esteem

Individual Approach

Play-based and ELECT-based learning is dynamic and allows toddlers to stretch themselves and push their individual learning boundaries

Teamwork

We believe that is important to have a strong connection with our families so that we can work together as a team to nurture our toddlers’ development

Learning Environment for Fostering Developmental Growth

Play is more than just “fun” for toddlers. It’s how they learn.

Play is essentially a child’s “work” and helps their brains grow while also being a lot of fun. We encourage the children in the Part-Time Toddler Program to explore their environment, as it helps build confidence, develop social skills, language and communication, learn about caring for others and develop physical skills.
Our daily activities may include:

Creative activities

Creative activities

can consist of anything from gluing to painting. Children are encouraged to explore in any way they choose. They may use their hands instead of a brush. We focus on the process not the product.

Sensory play

Sensory play

is enjoyed by all the children. They use this time to explore their senses. It is a time to get messy and have fun. Some of the children’s favorite activities include goop, flour, and water play….just to name a few!

Block play

Block play

is a time to construct and break down things. It is great fun to build a tall tower and then knock it down. It gives us a time to interact with our peers and practice our cooperative skills.

Dramatic play

Dramatic play

helps children identify with the world around them and helps them to understand who they are becoming. It also begins building life skills for the future.

Cognitive activities

Cognitive activities

help us start to develop our problem solving skills such as how does the puzzle go together, and to learn new concepts including colours, shapes etc.

Gross Motor activities

Gross Motor activities

give us a sense of how our bodies work. We can jump, run, crawl and climb. With active play and physical exploration we are gaining self-control and coordination.

We have three scheduled diaper change routines during the day, and of course we will change your child’s diapers at any time as required. Each child has a labelled bin in our diaper room, with space for diapers, wipes, clothes, and creams. You are responsible for bringing these items for your child. It’s always a good idea to check the bin every so often to make sure your child has what they need.

When the time comes, we will work with you to help with your child’s toilet learning. We follow their cues and what you are doing at home (e.g. if they wear underwear at home, we want to try to do the same at daycare). Please let us know if we can help in any way when you feel your child is ready to leave the diapers behind….it’s such a big step in a toddler’s growth and development and it is important that we are all doing the same thing. We have lots of tips and tricks to share and look forward to helping your child to master this exciting step!

Mothercraft provides nutritional, delicious morning snacks. The children are required to bring a nutritious lunch and afternoon snack from home. Foods that need to be kept cold or hot can be packed in a thermos to keep the food at a safe temperature. Cold foods can also be stored with an ice pack or frozen juice box. The Public Health Department expects that parents will have an ice pack in their child’s lunch bag for the travel time from home to daycare.

The Educators will serve the snacks/lunches as provided by the parents. A microwave is available to warm foods as required. The Ministry of Education requires that we ensure the children are provided with healthy snacks and lunches that follow the Canada Food Guide.

Meals are a very social time. Self-help skills are encouraged but of course a helping hand is ready when needed. Children must be sitting while eating and drinking. They are encouraged, but not required, to taste everything. The Educators return your child’s food containers to their lunch bag so that you can see what and how much they ate. They will let you know if you need to bring more food.

Please remember that we are a NUT FREE FACILITY!
Always double check pre-packaged food items for a warning that says “contains/may contain nuts or tree nuts” or “tree nuts” and/or “made in a factory that processes nuts”. These warnings can be in very small print at the end of the ingredient list. This restriction also applies to nut-based milks. These items cannot be served at Mothercraft. We do have children in our programs with nut allergies so please pay close attention to what you are packing for your child. Also, please make sure your child hands and face are washed before joining us in case they have had something with nuts prior to arriving at Mothercraft.

In our sleep room each child has their own cot. If your child has a soother, special blanket, pillow or soft toy that would make them feel more comfortable, we encourage you to bring it in. The sleep room is darkened, with quiet music and a fan. There is always an educator with the children. Naptime usually starts at 12:30pm and ends at 2:45pm at the latest. Children go into the sleep room in staggered, small groups. We encourage the children to fall asleep on their own, but we will rub backs, etc., to help them settle.

For those who wake up early we have a Wakers’ Program in the playroom. There are quiet activities set up for the children to explore as they wake.

The children need at least one complete set of spare clothes (don’t forget socks!), especially during toilet learning time and messy play.
Please note that some of the children’s favorite activities are the messiest kind, so we would suggest that you not send your child in anything you would not like to “get dirty”.
It’s so important to LABEL all your child’s clothing.We encourage the use of indoor shoes and outdoor shoes wherever possible.
Children also need to have whatever outdoor clothing needed to be able to have fun in our great play yard. Weather permitting we will always play outside twice daily (see daily schedule). Unless it is too cold, wet, hot, or slippery, out we go! Please be sure to send your child with appropriate clothing for the unpredictable Canadian elements.

We have three basic rules in this program: safe bodies, safe feelings, and safe equipment. By providing a play-space with fewer restrictions and rules, we believe that the children are more in control of their environment. It is a place that truly belongs to them. This in turn creates a room full of happy children, happy families and happy Educators.

We want your family will feel as welcome as possible in our program. To get to know us a little better, feel free to check out our personal profiles posted outside the classroom. Please share with us your family adventures and the exciting and funny things your child does. We can try to incorporate these important things into our program and make it that much more fun and exciting!
We welcome phone calls anytime if you have any questions, concerns, or compliments or even just to see how your child’s day is going!